Pano Logic Turns PCs into Zero-Client Desktops

Pano System 6 lets IT repurpose existing PCs as they migrate into desktop virtualization.

05/16/2012

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Pano Logic, a zero client desktop virtualization (VDI) specialist, has released Pano System 6 software that provides a new way for organizations to abandon costly PC-based computing. Pano System 6 introduces the Pano Virtual Client (PVC) that transforms PCs or laptops into virtual desktop clients. The newest version of the Pano System also features enhanced security, incorporating RSA SecureID’s two-factor authentication for Pano Remote users, further securing mobile employee access.

The Pano Virtual Client is designed for IT managers seeking to adopt desktop virtualization without eliminating their existing PCs or laptops. Working closely with end users and resellers, Pano Logic found that IT managers were facing multiple challenges in their transition into VDI, and that the three most common issues could be addressed by the introduction of a software client: (1) the desire to delay the selection of an endpoint device because of long-term uncertainty over standards, (2) the need to wait for a refresh cycle because their PCs/laptops are tied up in leases or not fully depreciated, and (3) the need to upgrade or expand infrastructure resources before connecting end users.

The software client, Pano Virtual Client(PVC), also enables Pano Logic users to expand existing deployments into departments or areas of their organizations where PCs are still in use, thus creating a blended environment. PVC is a replacement shell over a local Windows XP or 7 install, repurposing the PC into a Pano System endpoint device once users log on. The Pano Controller tracks those users alongside other Pano devices such as the Pano Zero Client, Pano Remote and the Fujitsu Zero Client monitors, just as it would if they were connecting using a Pano Zero Client.

The Pano System is a complete, end-to-end, hardware-and-software virtual desktop solution that independently interoperates with all three leading hypervisors (vSphere, XenServer, and Hyper-V) and their management systems (VMware View, XenDesktop, and Microsoft SCVMM respectively). The zero-client desktop virtualization solution is a solid-state device that has no processor, no storage, no memory, and no operating system. As a result, it completely eliminates endpoint support and maintenance, fully enabling the benefits of centralized management with a cloud-computing-ready device. Pano Logic zero client devices consume 97 percent less power than PCs, 50 percent less power than thin clients or other so-called zero clients, and do not store data locally, fully eliminating endpoint security liabilities.

Pano Logic also determined that customers in highly regulated industries, such as health care organizations, government agencies, and financial institutions, wanted greater security to accommodate remote or home-based workers accessing their virtual desktops over a WAN. The Pano System provides for end users to access their virtual desktops remotely with Pano Remote. Pano Remote is a simple application pre-installed on a flash drive that launches a user’s virtual desktop from almost any Internet-enabled PC.

With Pano System, Pano Remote has the added protections of RSA SEcurID support. This provides for optional two-factor authentication for remote users IT managers can decide that in addition to their name and password, remote workers must also enter a numeric authentication code.